Page 40 - FDCC_Flyer_Winter2024

As the deadline to
submit this article
approached, I still
didn’t have a clear
idea what it should
say. Gordon Walton
reached out to
me as the Chair of the FedLife
Committee and asked for a piece
for The Flyer, but he assigned no
specific topic. I write and speak
about lawyer well-being often. This
did not seem like a challenge when
I accepted it. Then the ensuing
days filled with business, as they
do, and I found myself at a loss. As
an elder millennial, I took to the
internet to crowdsource ideas from
other lawyers. I got some good
suggestions and hope to share some
with you later, but one idea stood
out: the suggestion that I shouldn’t
bother writing at all.
This cynicism was not new to me. I
teach mindfulness to lawyers, so I
am usually ready for it. In fact, I rely
on the skeptics in the group to help
me teach the concepts to everyone.
They usually do a great job because
skepticism forces me to be practical
and real and avoid overselling or
magical thinking. When it comes
to wellness programs for lawyers,
skepticism is to be expected. Good
wellness programs and offerings
should embrace it.
On the other hand, cynicism is
much harder to accept. Skeptical
reactions to attorney well-being
programs express uncertainty
about efficacy or utility. That’s fair,
human, and shows a willingness
to investigate. Cynicism, though,
expresses something else. It
Claire E. Parsons
WHY I WROTE THIS ARTICLE
ABOUT ATTORNEY WELLNESS
EVEN THOUGH IT WON’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE
By Claire E. Parsons
35
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